BAC Presentation: Master Planning

On Wednesday I presented a proposal to update the 1998 Master Plan by turning our attention to “B-bikers” or as the Portland Department of Transportation calls them, the “interested but concerned” group of potential cyclists who make up over half of the population and over 85% of potential riders. This group needs to be “comfortable” while riding, not just safe, so the bike lanes on high-speed, high-traffic arterials proposed in the current master plan will not work for them. We need low-speed, low-traffic alternatives. Fortunately, Manhattan has plenty of streets like this. By transforming these key streets into Bicycle Boulevards we can take a strong step toward creating an unbroken “green grid” for bicycles and pedestrians.

We are still tweaking the formula, so feel free to download the spreadsheet, tweak the formula as you wish, and comment below.

The response from the Bicycle Advisory Board was enthusiastic, and there seems to be significant momentum toward adopting something similar to this formula and to move forward with the creation of Bicycle Boulevards.